Transmission.



E. M. & A. G. RAYBURN.

TRANSMISSION.

APPLlcATloN FILED Nov.22.191e.

1,297,733. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

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E. NI. L A. G. RAYBURN.

` TRANsMlssmN.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22, 1916. 1.297,733. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

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TRANSMISSION.

APPLlcATIoN FILED Nov.22.191a.

1,297.733. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4- I E. M. L A. G. RAYBURN.

TRANSMISSION.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 22|,19l6.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

mmllllll Patented Mar. 18,1919;

E. M. L A. G. RAYBURN.

TRANSMISSION.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 22. I9Ie.

1,297,733. Patented Mar. 18,1919.

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WITNESSES f\ Arrnnevs EMTED sTa-TEs APATENT oEEioE.

ELWYN METTE RAYBUEN AND ALBEN GRANVILLE EAYBUEN, E sAUsALITo,

' cALIEonNiA.

' TRANSMISSION.

' n Application led November To all whom 1i may concern.'

' Be it known that we, ELWYN METTE RAY- BURN and ALDEN GRANVILLE RAYBURN, citizens of the United States, and residents of Sausalito, in the county of Marin and- State of California, have invented an improvement in Transmissions, of which the followin is a specification.

ur invention is an improvement in transmission mechanism, andhas for its object-to provide a transmilssion especially adapted for motor vehicles, wherein the driving and driven shafts are connected by a; lfluid controlled mechanism, permitting them `to be l` plates-and their connections.

Kand the controlling lever.

connected at any desired speed, wherein means is provided in connection with the transmission for converting into useful workA that' portion of the power of the motor which is usually wasted, when the driving and driven shafts are not directly connected.

In the drawings: v Figure 1 lis a side elevation of the `inaproved transmission.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section. Fig. .3 is a section on .the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. f

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on thelines 4 4 and 5 5, respectively, of Fig. 3, each View looking in the direction ofV the 'arrows adjacent to the line.

. Fig. 6 is an end view with the cover plateremoved Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the cam Fig. 8 is a sectional View through the h 1ding valve.

Fig. 9 is a: perspective view of the reversing valves and their connections. A

F ig. 10 is a perspective view of the blade operating mechanism. c

Fig. 11 is a, plan view of the steering wheel In the present embodiment ofthe invention a casing 1 is provided, lwhich has its ends closed` by heads 2 and 3- and is divided.

by partitions 4 and 5 into three compart- -ments, the said compartments being desig- 1 ynated by the numerals 6,- 7 and 7, respectively.

A shaft 9 is journaled longitudinally of the casing, and a species of fly wheel is jour- Speciication of LettersPatent.

22, 191e. serial No. 13214.82.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

10 and heads 11 and 12 secured to the e'nds of the ring.` The head 12 of the fly wheel has an axial extension 13, which is secured to the driving shaft 14, the said extension having anenlargement 13Et journaled in the central opening in the. head 3. lThus when the driving .shaft is rotated the fly wheel will be rotated therewith. The interior of the fly wheel forms a chamber 8, which is connected with the chambers 6 and 7 inra manner to be described. The partition 5 has an extension hub or bearing 15, in which is journaled a similar extension 16 from the head 11, and the partition 4 has i. bearing hub .1r extension 17 in which is journaled a similar hub or extension 18 from-the head 11. There is an annular space between'theex- .leading from the chamber 7 to lthe chamber 8 for the liquid whichv is adapted to be heldA in the chamber 7, and through this passagethe saidliquid may pass, freely into the chamber 8. Ports 19 and 19a lead` from the.

nectthe chamber6 to the chamber 8, passing through the'extensions o r hubs 17 and 18, and the valves 20v and 20a are arranged in such manner thatV they may connect the chamber 7 with the chamber 6 by wayof the port'19, and the chamber 6 with the chamber n8by way of the port 21, or they may connect the chamber 7 with the chamber 6 by way of the port 19a and the chamber 6 with the chamber 8 by wayof the port 21.

The shaft 9 is journaled in ball bearings in the head 2, the partitions 4 and 5, and -in the heads ll'and 12, and other ball bearings .are arranged between the extension hubs 15 and 16, and suitable packings are prvided in connection with the bearings.

A lrotor is secured to the shaft within the fly Wheel, and a Second rotor is secured to the shaft within the chamber 6'. The rotor within the ily wheel comprises a hub 22 which is provided with radial slots in which i being provided at each end With a guide 24 are arranged blades o r vanes 23, each blade which moves in a radialv opening at the adjacent end of the rotor. Each guide 24 1s provided with an outwardly extending4 pin 25, which engages an annular groove 26 in a cam plate 27 arrangedat the adjacent end of the ily Wheel in a recess in the adjacent had These cam A lates are connected by an abutment 28, an `when the abutment is moved toward or from the periphery of the rotor, the cam lates 27 will be moved therewith, to contro lthe protrusion and contraction of the blades with' respect to the rotor. A counterweight 29 is yprovided at the opposite side ofthe ily wheel from -the abutment, for counterbalancingrthe abutment, and the said counter-weight is yarranged to be: moved .in synchronism with the abutment so. that the fly wheel will not be th'rcwn out of balance bythe movement `of the abutment. Both ccu'nterbalance and abutment have radial stems 30,.whi'ch extend through guide webs 31 in the fly Wheel and integral with f the head'll to a ccnnection'with radial arms 32 on shafts 33 which are journaled in the iy wheel parallel with the shaft 9.' The .connection between these stems 30 and the arms 32 is a lost motion' connection, as shown, so thatwhen the shafts are oscillated the stems will 'be' moved toward and from the rotor. l .v

The shafts 33 are simultaneously oscillated by means of a lever 34, which is'pivoted intermediate its ends in an opening in the head 3'. The inner end of the lever is connected with the collar. 35, which is keyed to the axial extension 13 oir' thely wheelA to slide thereon and to turn therewith, by means ofa vring 36,

which is arranged within an annular groovel in the'collar, and is connected to the arms of VVa fork on the inner end of the lever.A Oppositely arranged pairs of links 37 are pivotedy at their inner ends to the collar and at theirl outer ends to a block 38, which is mounted to slide in a bearing 39 on the head 12. This plug has oppositely extendingplns 40, which pass through slots inthe opposite side of the guide and engage openings 1n the links, and a radial arm 41. on the adjacent shaft 33 isconnected with the yadjacent plug by arf-'lost mot-ion connection,as shown, the

plug having a pin extending through a slot 1n the bearing which engagesa loop in the end of the arm. It will be evident from the description that when the collar 35 is moved y outwardly, the plugs 38 will be drawn in- Wardl-y and-the shafts 33 will be oscillated in adirection to move the counter-weight and the abutment-toward the rotor, while when the collarv is moved in the opposite direction the abutment and the counter-weight will be drawn .away from the rotor. It4 will be understood that the blades 23 concentric or within-the rotor.

and 46 move in opposite directions, that is,

when the blades 23 are extended the blades 46 are contracted.

. Instarting the device, the engine is started and the ily wheel portion of the clutch, that is, the elements 10., 11 and 12, rotate idly about the shaft 9. There is .no tendency to move the oil, that is, there is no pumping of the'oil from the chamber 7 through the chamber 8, the hub extension 18, the port 21a and the valve 20a to the chamber 6, and the oil'returns from the chamber 6 to the chamber 7 by WayI of the valve 20 to the port 19. This moving oil strikes the blades 46 which are seven-eighths extended, thus tending vto' rotate the boosting in'it andthe shaft 9, and the pressure of the moving voil continues as 4the blades 23 are further extended, until there is suliicient pressure to turn the unit and the shaft 9. The extension of the blades 23 will tend to cause the clutch unit'to move with the ily wheel, that is, to rotate the shaft 9. To increase the speed of the shaft 9 the blades 23 are gradually' extended until the shaft 9 is moving at the same speed as the fly wheel.

f The valves 20 and 20'* have axial stems42, to which are secured arms 43. Each of these 'arms 43 is longitudinallyslotted at its upper end andl engages a pin 44 on a rod 45 which is movable transversely of the casing, and is connected -to operating mechanism to be later described. l

The rotor in the chamber 6 comprises a,-

vhub 22 which has radial recesses in which are arrangedblades or vanes 46 corresponding to the blades or lvanes 23 of the rotor in the y wheel. Theseblades or vanes 46 have guides 47 at their ends, which move in radial openings in the hub, and each guide has an outwardly extendingpin 48* at its inner end.

These pins engage annular grooves in cam plates 49 mounted in the same manner as the cam plates 27 before mentioned, and the said plates are connected to an abutment 48 in the same manner as theplates 27 are connected to the abutment 28. l This abutment and the plates' are moved toward and from the rotor, by means of a shaft 498L which is 'ournaled inthe casing 1, parallel with the sila-ft 9, and the said shaft is provided with radial arms 50, which havel a lost motion connection with a stem 51 on the abutment. The shaftv extends outwardly through the end of the casin and is vided with a worm wheel 52 at 1 s outer end.

pro-

' It will be evident that by oscillating the shaft the plates andthe abutment may be operated. f

The controlling mechanism for the trans-y mission comprises a treadle indicated at Y53, which is pivoted to the casing 1, asgindi cated at 54, near the lower end of the treadle,

and a spring- 55 yis provided for normallyholding the treadle in the .position of'Fig. 1. A link 56 connects the lower end of the treadle with the outer endl of the lever 34, before mentioned, and by means -of the treadle the lever 34 may be operated to control the blades 23 and the abutment 28. The treadle has an arm 57 rigid therewith and extending upwardly from the pivotal connection, and a link 58 connects the arm with a radial arm 59 on a worm 60 jou-rnaled on the head 2, the-said worm meshing with the worm wheel 52 before mentioned. Thus when the treadle is moved to operate the lever 34, it will also operate the shaft 49a. When the upper end ofthe treadle is moved forwardly, the abutment 28 is'nioved toward.

the rotor 22, and the blades 23 are withdrawn within the periphery of the hub 22.

At the-'same time the abutment 48 hasA beenK moved away from the rotor in the chamber 6, and the blades 46 have been extruded, the parts occupy the relative position shown in Fig. 2. The engine is now started, and the Hy wheel will rotate with vrespect to the driven shaft.' As long as the projected' blade area between the abutment 28 and they slow, and as the blades 23 are extended, a,

pumping action will be set up, and the shaft 9 will begin to move with the Hy wheel.

The liquid, oil, as a rule, in the chamber 7 is subjected to the atmospheric pressure through an opening 61 yin a block 62 which is threaded into the cover 4, and this atmos7 pherio pressure will cause the oil to retain the chamber 8 Hlled at all times. The rotor in the Hy wheel and connected parts, which will be hereafter desi ated as'the clutch unit, will thus eventua ly clutch the driving shaft to they driven shaft, and the relative speed between the parts will depend upon the position of the treadle 53.v This treadle might be held by the foot at the desired position, but mechanism is provided for holding the treadle automatically at the position desired.

The said mechanism,'which is shown in detail in Fig. 8, comprisesV an auxiliary cylinder 62, having a port 63 communicating port164 communicating with the said cylinder and separated from the body of the cylinder by a partition 65. This partition has a valve Seat, and a conical valve 66 coperates with they seat to close communication between the cylinder and the port 64. The valve is normally held closed by a spring 67, and the stem 68 of the valve extends out through the end of the cylinder and is pro-v vided withl a longitudinally extending slot 69. A piston 7 0 is mounted to reciprocate in the cylinder, and the stem 71 of theb piston extends out through the opposite head and is connected with the upwardly extending arm'72 on thetreadle, the connection being a lost motion connection, as shown'.

rI"he slot 69 of the stem 68l is engaged by f the .upper end of a lever 73 which is pivoted to the casing 1, and a spring 74 connected with the lever normally tends tohold the valve closed. A link 75 is connected with the lower end of the lever, and the opposite end of the link from the lever engages a cam 76 which is mounted upon a worm shaft- 77 journaled within the mounting 78 of the steeringv wheel. The worm is engaged by a worm wheel 79 on a shaft 80 journaled in the said mounting, and extending above the steering wheel and having secured thereto an operating handle 81. The pitch of the worm and worm wheel is forty-five degrees or thereabout It will be obvious that when the handle 81 is turned, the shaft 77 will be rotated,'and the lever 73 will be operated` to control the valve 66. When the treadle is moved forward, the piston 7 0 is moved therewith, and a charge of oil is drawn intothe cylinder 62 past the valve 66. It will be obvious that the lever will be held in thrown position by the oil which has beendrawn into the cylinder. vIn order to connect the driving and driven shafts atY any desired speed, it is only necessary to permit the proper 'portion of oil Vto escape from the cylinder 62, and this is brought about by the cam 7 6 and the valve 66. v

In Fig. 11 is shown the steering wheel and the handle 81. It will be noticed that a ring 82 is mounted above the wheel, the said ring bearing position indicators for the lever and the ring is secured to the support for the steering shaft. When the treadle is moved forwardly, the lever is moved to the position indication L vwhich is the locking position, the parts being thus locked in inoperative position. When the operator wishes to start the vehicle and to gradually increase the speed, he will move the lever from 'stood that the valve 66 governs the sped of 'tharearward movement. of the treadle. The, greater the opening of the valve the quicker the treadle will move. Whenthe lever reaches the position indication H the driving shafty andthe driven shaft will be rotated together and the transmission will be inthe high speed. When the operator wishes to reverse, the treadle is again moved to forward position, thus idling the trans'- mission, and the lever 81 is moved to the position indication` R, after which the operator willeontrol the rearward movement of the treadle with lhis foot. The manual control of the rearward movement of the treadle is neceary, because the valve 66 is open and there is nothing to prevent thei will operate the elbow lever 85, and will.

move the valves 20-2()al to reversing position. The movement of the lever 8l to the position .indication L, while it moves the valves 20--20a does\.notmove them vsuiliciently to interfere with the proper flow of the liquid 4between the chambers 6, 7, and 8, because the openings through the valves are Amade large enough to span their respective4 ports when the valve is at the position indication L.

' l The clutch, consisting of the rotor havingv the hub 22 and the fly wheel composed of' the elements 10, 11,12 and 29, which will 1 be hereafter referred to as the clutch unit, when used in itself, will give all the speeds up to and including the direct drive, yet there is a large waste of power. The greater the difference in speed of rotation between the driving and driven Shafts, the greater the waste, and the rotor having the hub 22EL and associated parts, which will be hereafter re ferred toas the-booster to utilize this waste.

The clutch consists, as before stated, of the fly wheel, that is, the elements connected to and rotating with the shaft 13' and the rotor having the hub 22. lt will be obvious that when the relative speed of the shaft 9 is but half that'of the y wheel or motor unit, are provided i shaft, the actual power transmittedto the driven shaft is but one-half that developed by the motor or driving shaft, and the other half of the power is wasted in heat, that is, the motor is delivering to the driven shaft but one-half its energy. By providing the booster unit, this-waste is utilized, for the booster unit blades move inthe opposite direction to those of the clutch unit. When the treadle is thrown into the forward position to disconnect the driving shaft from the driven shaft, the blades 46 are lfully extended and the blades 23 fully contgacted. With the `rst extension of the blades 23 a pumping action isset up, that is, the liquid is putl into motion, and this motion acts upon the partially extended blades 461 of the booster unit.' IWith the'improved construction, when a certain amount of power is transmitted through the 'driving shaft 14 t0 the driven shaft 9, the remainder of the Apower developed by the motor, not needed, is'passed into the booster unit, where ity does useful work.

In coasting in the motor vehicle the driven shaft 9 will 'act as the driving shaft, because it -will rotate while the motor shaft is stopped. It will be recalled that when the clutch unit is disconnected, that is, when the shaft 9 is disconnected front the shaft 14, the blades of the rotor having the hub 22a are fully extended, and the shaft 9 'being'- drivenby the coasting of the vehicle, will' causev the rotor having the hub 22a to set up a'pumping action which will act upon the blades 23 of the rotor having the -hub 22, when the said blades are extended or par-l tially extended, acting thus as an effectual brake, and this braking action may be varied according to the extent of protrusion of the blades.A Y v lt will be understood that the outer edges of the blades are always in contact with the adjacent faces of the abutments.' When. the blades are in the innermost position, the abutments contact with the peripheriesl of the hubs, and there is no movement of fluid because there is nothing to carry the fluid through the passage between the inlets and.

the outlets of the stator casing, that is, the dy wheel and the chamber 6. When, however, thel abutment moves away from the periphery of the adjacent hub to make an opening between the abutment and thehub periphery, the blades are extended as they pass the abutment, still moving in contact therewith,

anda pumping action is set up, the blades moving the liquid, through the passage between the abutment and thej rotor hub peripher'y.

l claim:

l. A. transmission mechanism ,comprising imcombination with thealined driving and drivenshafts, a plurality of rotors on the driven shaft, each rotor,` having radially movable blades, a :dy wheel inclosing the rotor near the driving shaftland connected to the said shaft, a casing inclosing the rotors and adapted to contain a liquid and having `a chamber for each rotor and an intermediate chamber, and having an open port leading from the intermediate to the driving shaft rotor chamber, and having means fdr constraining the liquid to flow from the intermediate through the driving to the driven' shaft chamber or from the intermediate' through the driven sha-ft to the driving shaft chamber, an abutment adjacent to each rotor and coperating With the blades thereof, means in connection with each abutment,A

erated means for holding the controllingl means with the driving shaft rotor in inoperative position, a, spring for moving the said controlling means in the opposite d1- rection, andmanually controlled means for actuating the fluid pressure operated means to release the controlling means.

2. A transmission mechanism comprising in combination With the alined, driving and driven shafts, a plurality of fluid controlled rotors on the driven, shaft, a fly Wheel inclosing the rotor near the driving shaft and connected to the said shaft, a casing inclosing the rotors and adapted to contain a liquid and having a chamber for each rotor and an intermediate chamber, and having an open) port leading from the intermediate to the driving shaft rotor chamber, and having means for causing the liquid to flow from (the intermediate through the driving shaft and the driven shaft chambers or in the reverse direction, when the rotors are in operation, said rotors being movable into and out of operative position, means for controlling the rotors for alternately moving them into operative position, fluid pressure operated means for holding the controlling means with the driving shaft rotor in inoperative position, normally active means for moving the `said controlling means in the opposite direction, manually controlled means for actuating the fluid pressure operated means to release the controlling means, and means 1n connectlon with the manually controlled means and operated by the move-- ment thereof for controlling the reversing means for the flow of the liquid.

3. A transmission mechanism comprising in combination with the alined driving and driven shafts, a plurality of fluid controlled rotors on the driven shaft,'a fly Wheel inclosing the rotor near the driving shaft and connected to the said shaft, a casing inclosing the rotors and adapted to contain a liquid and having a chamber for each rotor and an intermediate chamber, and having an open port leading from the intermediate to the driving shaft rotor chamber, and having means for causing the liquid to flow from the intermediate through the driving shaft and the driven shaft chambers or in the reverse direction, when the rotors are inoperation, saidv rotors being movableinto and. outof operative position, means for controlling the rotors for alternately moving them into roperative position, fluid pressure,

operated means for holding the controlling means With the driving shaft rotor in inoperative position, normally active means for moving. the said controlling means in the opposite direction, and manually, controlled means for actuating the iuid pressure operated means to release the controlling means.

4. A transmission mechanism comprising in combination With the alined driving and driven shafts, a plurality of fluid controlled rotors on the driven shaft, a fly .Wheel inclosing the rotor near the driving shaft and connected to the said shaft, a casing inclosing the rotors and adapted to contain a liquid and having a chamber for eachv rotor and an intermediate chamber, and having an open port leading from the intermediate to the .driving shaft rotor chamber, and having means for causing the liquid to How from the intermediate through the driving shaft and the driven shaft chambers or in the reverse direction, When the rotors are in operat-ion, lsaid rotors being movable into and out of operative position, and means for controlling the rotors for alternately mov- -ing them into operative position.

5. A transmission'mechanism comprising in combination with the driving and driven shafts, a plurality of fluid controlled clutches, one of the said clutches being a booster clutch and being secured Ato ythe driven shaft and the other being arranged between the driving and the driven shafts for connecting the said shafts, means for alternately operating thesaid clutches, fluid pressure operated means for holding the controlling means with the connecting clutch in inoperative position and With the booster clutch in operative position, normally active means for moving the controlling means in the opposite direction, manually controlled means for actuating the fluid pressure operated means -to release the controlling means, and reversing means for the transmission controlled by the release of the Huid pressure operated means.

6. A transmission mechanism comprising in combination with the driving and driven shafts, a plurality of fluid controlled clutches, one of the said clutches being a booster clutch and being secured to the kfor alternately operating the said clutches.

7. A transmissionmechanism comprising in combination with the driving and driven` shafts, a plurality of fluid controlled clutches, one of the said clutches being a booster clutch and being secured to the driven shaft and the other being arranged between the driving and the driven shafts 5 forconnecting the said shafts, means for alternately operating the said clutches, fluid f controlled means for holding the operating meansvwith the connecting clutch in inoperative position, means normally acting to move the operating means against the resist- 10 sume any desired position.

ELWYN ME'rrE RAYBRN. ALBEN GRANVILLE RAYBURN. 

